THE Olympic Games could actually harm Wales’ tourist industry – rather than delivering a widely-mooted boom, a report suggests.
The Games organisers have always maintained that UK tourism will be one of the biggest winners of the 2012 Games in London.
They claim that extra visitors will come to the country to go to the Olympics before going off to explore other destinations, such as Wales.
But evidence suggests that the Games in Barcelona, Sydney and Athens had no real long-term benefits for tourism in the host cities’ countries. And a major tourism body is warning that the Games has the potential to do “real damage” to the industry here.
In fact, in the short term, the Olympics actually displaces the normal tourism trade – with regular tourists turned off from visiting a city and country hosting a games.
A report by the European Tour Operators Association (ETOA) argues that the benefits the Olympics can bring the tourism industry are overstated.
And even though Wales will be staging football events at the Millennium Stadium, the study suggests that will not be much of a boost to the ailing economy.
The ETOA’s Olympic Report says there is “no strong link” between hosting sporting events and increased tourism.
It goes on: “The audiences regularly cited for such events as the Olympics are exaggerated. Attendees at the Games displace normal visitors and scare tourists away for some time.
“Both Sydney and Barcelona had ‘excellent’ Olympic Games, but their tourism industries have not significantly benefited. Thus there appears to be little evidence of any benefit to tourism of hosting an Olympic Games, and considerable evidence of damage.”
The ETOA’s study provides worrying reading for the tourism industry in Wales – even the Costa Brava resorts in Spain reported a drop in demand in 1992 when Barcelona hosted the event.
The body warns that the long-term benefits to tourism are also “far from clear”.
Welsh tourism expert John Wake argued that evidence from major events in Wales back up the theory.
Despite Wales having staged the Rugby World Cup in 1999, FA Cup finals and the Ryder Cup in 2010, he said there had been no real long- term legacy for the nation’s tourism industry.
Mr Wake, a tourism consultant based in Cardiff, suggested that London 2012 will have a similar effect on the sector here – which could prove catastrophic for many struggling operators, already battling with some of the most difficult trading conditions ever.
Tourism is crucially important to the Welsh economy – with most analysts accepting there is potential for growth.
According to latest estimates, the industry is worth around £4.2bn a year to the Welsh economy and supports thousands of jobs.
But there are serious concerns that 2012 will see it hit by the double whammy of another recession and a lack of visitors during a make-or- break summer season thanks to the Olympics.
Mr Wake said: “The experience in Wales of these worldwide events we have hosted has not been a good one for tourism here.
“You get this positive propaganda from organisers, saying the Games will benefit everybody, but I’m not sure I believe it.
“On a match day, everybody turned up to Cardiff and in the evening they went home.
“What you are looking for is something to be going on outside the event, to draw people back. We have had all these things in Cardiff, but what has it done for tourism in Wales?”
Mr Wake has “no doubt” London will be boosted – but said he did not see any benefit to Wales at all.
Plaid Cymru MP Jonathan Edwards said prospective damage to Wales’ tourism industry “added insult to injury”, with the Games seeing billions invested in capital projects in London and the south east.
He said: “What is concerning to us is that it’s very much a London Games, that focus on London could potentially be very damaging to other parts of the British Isles which have not had the same coverage out of the Games.”
Carmarthen East and Dinefwr MP Mr Edwards described the staging of some football matches at the Millennium Stadium as a “sop” and questioned the logic of creating a mountain bike venue in the south of England when Wales has some of the best courses for the sport in the world.
He said: “The big danger is that the Games is going to be branded as a London event, and that is not going to touch the edges as far as our tourist industry is concerned.”
Businesses in Wales claim not enough has been done to help them take advantage of the Games.
Iestyn Davies, head of external affairs at the Federation of Small Businesses in Wales, said: “The general feeling from FSB members, across sectors, is that they don’t envisage their businesses seeing any long-term positive benefit as a result of the Games.
“Most feel the Games will have little impact on their business and are therefore unlikely to be of significant business benefit to them.
“Some members have reported anticipating a decrease in business and a subsequent negative impact,” he added.
“In terms of the tourism sector specifically, members are largely anticipating visitor numbers to remain the same in Wales during the Games.
“Members have also expressed dissatisfaction with the Games authorities in promoting the commercial benefits of the Games to small businesses.
“Some are stating that local tourism bodies have not effectively informed them of opportunities that may arise through increased visitors,” he said.
